Armor-piercing, spotlight, and incendiary bullet



W. L.'CLAY.

ARMOR PIERCING, SPOTLIGHT AND INCENDIAHY BULLET.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20| ISIS.v

1,380,773; Patented June 7, 1921.

WALLACE L. CLAY, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

Ammon-PIERCING, SPOTLIGHT, AND INCENDIARY BULLET.

Application led November Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 7, 1921.

20, 1918. Serial No. 263,382.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT 0F MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT. L., 625.)

YTo all wiz-0m t may concer/n.

Be it known that` I, WALLACE L. CLAY, Lt. Col. Ordnance Dept., U. S. A.,a citizen of the United States, stationed at vFrankford Arsenal, haveinvented an Improvement in Armor-Piercing, Spotlight, and IncendiaryvBullets, of which the following is a speciication.

The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any ofits oiiicers or employees in prosecution of work for the Government, orby any other per- -son in the United States, without payment of anyroyalty thereon.

This invention relates to combined armor piercing, spot light andincendiary bullets or projectiles, and has for one of its objects toproduce a projectile including a slug capable of piercing armor or otherresisting body, coating the armor adjacent to the aperture with a vaporor light producing substance, and producing a conlagration or explosionof the inflammable gas or other substance within the objective.

A combined tracer spot light and incendiary projectile is thus producedwhich may be employed for all of these purposes without interference onewith the other.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in certainnew and useful vimprovements hereinafter described and specifically setforth in the claims, and in the drawings illustrative of the preferredembodiment of the invention- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of theprojectile complete.

Fig. 2 is a detached longitudinal elevation of the shell or jacket.

I Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the blank from which thelubricating member is produced. y

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail dillustrating a modification in theconstruction.

The improved projectile comprises -a slug 10, of steel or other armorpiercing metal, pointed at the forward end, and an inclosing shell 11 ofa material which will be shattered by impact with a resisting object.

The slug 10 is retained in position by crimping the rear edge of theshell over the slug as shown in Fig. 1, and extends through the majorportion of the shell leavor metallic compound such as cupro-nickel,gilding metal, cupro-nickel steel, or the like, which will shatter onimpact with a resisting object.

Disposed within the shell and between its `sldes and the slug is a mass12 of soft metal such as lead, a compound of lead and anti- -mony,.orlead and tin, or the like which forms a lubricant for the slug.

Dlsposed within the space between the slug 10 and the lubricant material12 is a mass of vapor and light producing substance such as phosphorus,indicated at 13.

At its rear end the crimped in portion of the shell is provided with a'cap 14 or guard of solder or the like, to prevent the force of thepowder charge of the iire arm from drivmg the slug through. the shellbefore the latter reaches its objective.

The action of the projectile is as follows: Upon impact with an armorplate or other hard resisting material, a flash is produced' steel slugpasses on through the armor plate, l

being lubricated by the alloy around it.

The steel slug passes through the charge of .phosphorus and carries partof the phosphorus with it and also coats the surface of the armor plateat the point of impact and coats the interior of the hole made by itspassing throu h the armor plate with the phosphorus, w ich burns oncontact with the air. l, Also, part of the charge is carried on to therear of the armor plate, which in many cases may be a gasolene tank,thus causing ex losion of the same.

The device can be manufactured 1n any `required size to fit any size ofgun. The positions of lubricating and coniiagration producing elementsmay be transposed, aS.,

shown in Fi 4, or with the element 13 in advance of t e element ,12, iffound advantageous.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto secure by Letters Patent is:

1.v A projectile of the class described, comprising a slug, a shell of amaterial fracturable byl impact and inclosing the slug, a mass ofrelatively soft metallic substance Abetween' the slug and shell, and amass of a light and vapor. producing substance'between the slug and thesoft metallic substance.

2. A projectile of the class described, comprising a slug pointed at theforward end, a shell of a material fracturable by impact and inclosingthe slug and pointed at the forward end, a mass of relatively softmetallic substance between the slug and shell, the major portion of themetallic element being located within the nose of the shell, and a massof a light and vapor producing substance between the pointed end of theslug and the forward portion of the soft metallic substance.

3. A projectile of the class described, comprising a slug, a shell of amaterial fracturable by impact and inclosing the slug, a mass ofrelatively soft metallic substance between the Slug and shell, a mass ofa light and vapor producing substance between the slug and the softmetallic substance, and means :for holding the shell upon the slug.

4. A projectile of the'class described, comprising a slug, a shell of amaterial fracturable by impact and inclosing a slug, a mass ofrelatively soft metallic substance between the slug and shell, and amass of a light and Vapor producing substance between the slug and thesoft metallic substance, the rear end of the shell being directed overthe rear end of the slug to hold the same in position.

5. A projectile of the class described, comprising a slug, a shell of amaterial fracturable by impact and inclosing the slug, a mass ofrelatively soft metallic substance between the slug and shell, a mass ofa light and vapor producing substance between the slug and the softmetallic substance, the rear enfl of the shell being directed over therear end of the slug to hold the same in position, and a cap ofrelatively soft material attached to the rear end of the shell and slug.

WALLACE L. CLAY.

